A muffler is designed to muffle noise generated from an engine. Typically, the muffler is centrally mounted along the exhaust pipe installed in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle for primarily discharging exhaust gas from an engine toward the rear of the vehicle. The exhaust pipe is installed with a catalytic converter for purifying the exhaust gas. In general, the exhaust pipe is secured at an appropriate location underneath the vehicle while the muffler, catalytic converter and the like are mounted onto the exhaust pipe.
There are three ways the exhaust pipe, muffler and catalytic converter may be fixed to the bottom of a vehicle. First, the exhaust pipe may be directly fixed to the bottom of a vehicle, with the muffler and catalytic converter being mounted onto the exhaust pipe. Second, the muffler and catalytic converter may be directly secured to the bottom of a vehicle, where the load is concentrated, with the exhaust pipe being mounted onto the muffler and catalytic converter. And third, the exhaust pipe, muffler and catalytic converter may all be directly fixed to the bottom of a vehicle.
However, there is a drawback in the fixing of an automobile muffler thus described in that, typically, there contains a gap at a preset interval between the muffler mounted on the exhaust pipe with a catalytic converter or the like and the bottom surface of the vehicle. This gap generates vibration and noise in relation to the motion of the vehicle according to its installation condition. Further, the life of the connecting parts to the exhaust pipe and the muffler is greatly affected by how and where the muffler is mounted underneath a vehicle.